In which the clouds come down low and take away the mountain and the sky

You've heard of a White Christmas, which most people figure means sn*w.

Bah.

Here in the Swamp, we have a different kind of whiteness.

It's quiet, calm, beautiful.

Best of all, this whiteness does not require a shovel.

In which an old friend left for the Rainbow Bridge today. Godspeed, my Toad.

The Toad, 1990-2009

He was not my horse

but he loved me anyhow.

Faithful friend, farewell.

In which I try to measure Fiddle's feet and have too much caprine help

The first step in getting hoof boots to fit my horse is, according to Garrett and Tara at Easycare Inc, to measure my horse's feet. Here's the image from the website of the measurements needed:


Out I went this morning, into the rain (aside: hooray, it's raining! the stupid sn*w is gone at last!) , armed with a ruler (and the camera, of course) to get some measurements.


Fiddle's feet are really different from each other. This photo was taken right before her shoes were pulled for winter.


Notice that her right front foot is visibly different from the other three--this is the foot that she paddles with at a trot on trail. When she's working at a collected trot in the arena, this leg/foot travels much straighter. This foot is always her forward foot when she's grazing at home, and it tends to grow hoof tissue faster than the others.


Here are the measurements I sent to Tara at Easycare:

Left Front:
length: 5.5"width: 4.75"heel: 3.00"

Left Hind: <--this foot has some flare on the outside, shown in photo

length: 5.25"width: 5.75"heel: 3.25"

Right Front:
length: 5.5"width: 5.25"heel: 3.25

Right Hind:length: 5.5"width: 5.0"heel: 3.25"


Does that seem funky? I'm not a hoof geek, but I know there are some hoof geeks reading this. Opinions, please?


And here's a situation that the Easycare people do not address: Goat Assistants.




One photo will suffice:


Notice that the Easycare hoof photo doesn't have an extra nose on one corner, nor does it show a little goat-foot in another corner. That experience, apparently, is special just for me.


Then, there's this picture. I have quite a few like it:



Argh. Goats! Move out of the way!

It's a good thing they're cute.

In which a "system re-boot" is not a negative experience

In a recent blog post I bemoaned my unhappy experience with the Easyboot Glove.

Within hours of posting, Garrett Ford, president of Easycare Inc, sent a note to my blog comments, and offered to help me "re-boot" my mare.

He is confident that with help, I can have a happy booting experience.


Wow. Really? Cool!

The boots have a standard 30-day warrantee, but my boots were purchased more than 30 days ago. Not a problem, according to Garrett.

I'll send the too-big boots back today,

and he will send me a "fit-kit" AND connect me up with his best customer-service person. The next time my mare wears boots, they will fit properly--hurrah!

Oh, and Garrett...

...there are a few extra treats in the box I'm sending.

I figure customer service like this should be celebrated.

In which a Holiday Parade is proposed and so we have some fun

Jane over at The Literary Horse blog has proposed a virtual Holiday Parade, and here at Haiku Farm, we are huge believers in celebrating stuff by wearing silly outfits!


Hana is always the prettiest, no matter what outfit we put on her. She also loves to wear outfits. She was just a bit dubious about the antlers...after all, red is not really her color.

But really: isn't she cute?

Speaking of cute, here's Fiddle the Santa-Moose.
Adorable? Oh, yes!

Gigantic, but adorable!

Uh, clarification: FIDDLE is gigantic. I am, by comparison, a shrimp.

I think she's cute. She thinks I'm cute. But truly, we aren't very cute, compared to the goats.

There is nothing cuter than goats. Decorate a goat, and the rest of us might as well go home.

Totally, totally cute!

And to make everything the utmost in cuteness, here's a picture of our photographer.

In which the weather requires I share a a poem by Robert Frost

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.